A/n: Thank you sooo much to everyone who has reviewed so far!! and i thought i should say it but you should thank The Chibi's Are Stalking Me, the wonderful author of the 350 chapter 'What if..' series, look it up, its fantastic!! takes as long to read s this AN is gonna be if i carry on lol. (yes i can ramble as long as this chapter...i dont..mostly...) but yea anyway :)
ok this chapter will be in two parts, the nxt part will be up by nxt week so hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 2.
'Ok, come on Jack, forget the surprise! When and where ARE we?'
A laughing trio glided along the sidewalk arm in arm despite the rain; a young woman stood in the middle, a definite head shorter than the two men who held her to them tightly. Her blonde hair fell over her face as she swung her head from side to side taking in the sights of the world around her, brown eyes wide in amazement and wonder. Her tallest companion held her hand in his as he smiled down at her, the gaze he fixed upon her filled with such intense emotion that even the passersby weave around them aiding the strangers' laughter. The third member of the trio, although tightly entwined with the other pair stood away from them, watching and smiling sadly. The blonde seemed unaware of the concerned looks that passed between her companions as she slipped in their grasp and phased out for enough seconds that one counted without thinking. Laughing it off, she brushed invisible dirt from her green corseted dress and plastered a bright smile on her face, rolling her eyes at the men and complaining of how the women surrounding them had ever become used to wearing such breathe restricting garments she walked ahead with a hand over her stomach and chest still breathing slightly erratically. Turning around when she realised they were not following her; she laughed and asked again her question to the shorter of the two men. He in turn walked to her and took her hand and twirled her around to once again stare at the world around them, explaining the history of the planet, of how it was similar to Old Earth long ago with the blue sky and green grass with parks in the middle of large cities like those that fill the whole planet with no break between them to distinguish where one ended and other started. He told her that instead of accepting the change on the New Worlds out in the universe, there were some, or many depending on your perspective, who thought that only the bare basics of the advancements that the human race had made through the centuries had the right to be used; only the ones that kept them alive – and instead of becoming so utterly alien to their mother race as other's had done, a certain sect had reformed back to the old ways to the Golden Age of Earth's history. Only that depended on each person's own opinion. The pair watched as Neolithic hunter gather families from all across Africa and Europe walked across the street to a bank, while Puritan women preached from street corners demanding the right for God to be reached by individuals who deserved to speak to Him for themselves and them Him guide them individually, instead of being preached to by old fools, crocked by their own greed and strive for power. Elizabethan courtiers swept through the street calling for all theatres to be reopened as the Queen had demanded so long ago that no one remembered why that had been closed in the first place. Men and women from all ages filled the world with the stench of despondent and barbaric nostalgia, as generations after generation filled the pits of hell with as much knowledge and imagination of the wider cosmos as the history they re-enacted day after day.
While distracted, the almost younger but far more world worn man turned to look at the shop they had stopped at to laugh at a joke the other man had made what already felt like
hours ago. As the pair behind him laughed and her eyes continued to take in the world with different eyes with each turn, her companion, watching her through her reflection in the window, drew a long object from a pocket in his long brown coat and changing as view settings, pointed it at the women from under his elbow. Frowning at the results he again changed the settings and went to what must be to scan her again when she released a loud squeal of girlish laughter and ran to another shop window filled with more elegant dressed that matched what she was already wearing, but also went out of reach of the man with the blue humming object. Not wanting to raise questions, he turned and raised an eyebrow at her from across the street when she looked back to him with that huge innocent and accepting smile radiating compassion from her face. Sighing dramatically he pushed his hands in his pockets and joined his companions more slowly but indulged the woman's fancy as he too joked and flirted with her, commenting on the colour, cut and design of each dress, each time giving a reason why it wasn't better than the one she was already wearing.
The companion addressed as Jack eventually appeared to get bored and dragged his pair of laughing friends back across the street and off into the jungle of the major city, the winding roads that each lead to a new destiny, changed the path you were already on, gave new life or took it away, that placed love and hate side by side, but always sent its travellers onto the next journey.
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'Here we are'
Jumping on the balls of his feet, giddy as a school boy, Jack stood patiently in front of a plain white washed wall, beams holding together the second floor that would not have looked out of place in Tudor England. Jack opened the small door that was behind him and bounded inside while The Doctor and Rose just looked at each other sceptically each raising an eyebrow at each other before following the captain inside. A candle lit corridor filled their vision as their eyes adapted to the darkness around them, and Rose had to stifle a few giggles along the way as the Doctor managed to bang his head more than once on the low beams, leaving Jack to lead the way holding onto Roses' hand who held onto the Doctor's behind her. Eventually the corridor filled out into a large circular bright lit room, a spattering of people sat at small tables all around the room all of whom were watching the small girl singing on the stage. Jack left the couple looking ever more confused and weary as he went up to the bar to talk with a tiny weed of a man with a clipboard. Laughing slightly at each other Rose and the Doctor sat down at one of the larger tables at the back due to Rose's emerald green velvet gown that bellowed around her knees and feet. The Doctor reached across the table for Rose's hand and just held it, playing with her fingers as they sat in silence watching Jack talk to a tiny weed of a man with a clipboard who sat at the bar, ticking occasionally while watching the small girl who was singing her heart out; red curls framing her oval face. Laughing Rose fiddled with the necklace she wore; the Doctor had found it in a stall from an old market town they had been on a few weeks back; a single rope
of soft pearls hung closely to her throat with an 'R' pendant with two pearls hanging from the 'R', a second rope hung over her shoulders and fell in the valley of her breasts. The Doctor followed the trail and envied the pearls as they clung to her chest as they rose up and down with each deep breath she took.
So lost in thought he didn't realise when Jack returned with drinks all round and had been talking to Rose for the last five minutes. When he finally joined the conversation, he suddenly really whished he hadn't.
' – so all you have to do is go up and sing. You don't even need to know a song, it does it all for you!'
Rose laughed lightly holding her stomacher, still getting used to wearing the whole getup. The Doctor looked between the two utterly confused and held onto Rose' hand tighter as a sense of dread over whatever Jack had planned crept over him. Gulping he looked down at the drink in front of him and held it up critically, before looking at his companions, both of whom had drunk their fill. Taking a sip he found himself surprised at the cool, sharp tang on the silvery liquid. As he felt it slip down his throat an odd feeling of peace and truth filtered into his mind as the cool sensation ran through his veins. Looking back over the pair in front of him he could see the same feeling in their eyes; relaxation, emotions clear as moonlight. Silence had fallen over the table as the trio finished watching the tiny child who smiled, curtseyed and walked back through the room and into the corridor, small feet over a wooden floor the only thing to be heard as no one else in the room made a sound, each group too focused on themselves, all with the same dazed look in their eyes, their demeanour all too calm and relaxed.
'Huh? Hang on, wait a sec, say that again?'
The Doctor looked between his friends and asked his question again when Jack didn't respond the first time. Laughing the Captain leant over the table and stared into the Doctor's eyes while attempting not to laugh at what his reaction was going to be.
'I said that this is a karaoke bar with a twist, the drinks are all the same, they have a simple remedy that brings out your inner truth, and it allows your mind to see a future. So when you go up and sing, you don't need to know any words or any song to sing because the drink does it all for you. The songs mean something to someone, not necessarily from a past moment, but one that is going to happen today, tomorrow or years from now. For some, the reason behind the song never comes to light. But all you have to do is go up and sing. The rest is done for you. And you Doc are on the list to go up!'
Giving in to his laughter Jack almost fell of his chair at the look of terror on the Time Lords face as his words sunk in through the daze. Rose too looked slightly horrified and her complexion that had turned back to normal while being inside had once again gone pale, extra so in the harsh light of the room. Gulping, she turned her head to look at the Doctor
who was holding her hand more tightly than ever, his own face slightly more pale than usual. Squeezing his fingers giving her own support as the thought of them both spilling secrets that were meant to be kept, and ones that really couldn't come out just yet...for either of them.
The Doctor continued to pale as the possibilities ran before his eyes at what he could possibly end up singing...the thought that Jack had even put him up to this was almost making him angry...almost. Ignoring the look Rose was giving him, he shrank in his seat as the memory of the last few hours flashed before him; the look on his Rose's face that was oh so different to the one she was wearing now, the look of hate and anger, most of not directly aimed at him, but still himself.
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The trio had been on earth and had attempted to visit Jackie, only to find the flat abandoned, and not recently. Everything was left as if Jackie had planned to come back, the TV was on but the screen has long since gone blank, three cups of very stale and mouldy tea lay on the table beside Jackie's chair. Nothing looked amiss, except the very obvious fact that no one had lived there for months. Rose had gone deadly quite, gingerly holding her stomach as if to keep its contents inside; despite the bug that was threatening to counteract her efforts. Her eyes had gone blank as if the realisation her mother was not there was too hard to bear. Only Jack had taken notice of the date of the local paper that had been forced through the letterbox – June 12 2009. They hadn't been back since Christmas 2007, the Doctor's regeneration. Leaving the flat quickly and silently, the trio had left the estate which was eerily quiet as Rose's heels clattered along the pavement. Not really looking as to where they were going the group walked through the abandoned streets of London. No space ships were overhead; no invasion force walked the streets terrorizing the few brave or stupid enough to leave their homes. Instead the entire city was like a ghost town, cars stood left in the middle of the streets with doors wide open, a few stereos still playing Cd's, radio stations let off only static through the speakers. Shop windows lay smashed and empty. Despite the heat at the height of summer the air gave only the feeling of fear and hopelessness. Jack gave a comment of it being like the early stages of the war. Nothing else needed to be said. Without warning the sound of a bus coming up behind them rattled their senses as they ran for cover in a tall white building along Canary Warf apparently known as H.C.Clements. As the bus drove past the three could only watch as people were cramped inside the odd piece of luggage seen through the mesh that covered the windows. Refugees, that was what Jack called them. But not from what. The Doctor sat still, frowning, occasionally sniffing the air then making a disgusted face as if he had just swallowed an apple with jelly beans. Something was wrong, time was wrong. The rest had not been difficult to work out as when they made their way back to the Tardis, she had picked up the trace of another Tardis not far, so at least somewhere in the London area. The Doctor had only sighed and kicked himself. He had then looked at his companions and told them they
were just going to leave because it was a bad thing to cross your own time line, especially if you were a Time Lord, bad things always happened like trying to change your past. He had a faraway look in his eyes as he looked at Rose when he spoke, when he told her he couldn't tell her what had happened to her mother, for they were not meant to know yet. It was then she had snapped, it was then that she had screamed at him for not going to look for her mother and that he wasn't because he knew that Jackie hated him for taking Rose away from her, for changing his face on her, for making her daughter into the woman she couldn't have. She bellowed at him that he wasn't helping because she didn't matter to him, that he was going to dump her back on Earth the first chance he got, which wasn't now as it wasn't even her time...not quite. She cried that he didn't give a damn about her and that he was only playing on her feelings and that he was using her to make himself feel alive again since the war. That made him break. He yelled back that she was right in everything, except for the fact he had loved her with all his being, for he had given her his left heart as soon as he had taken her hand and told her to 'Run!'. He whispered that she could have one more trip before he would take her home to her mother and her normal life. Jack had stood at the side watching them as Rose began to hyperventilate as the strain of holding up the war they were inflicting upon each other took its toll on her already weak body. As she collapsed to her knees breathing heavily the Doctor was the first to reach her and hold her as she howled, huge heart wrenching sobs wracking through her body as helplessness seeped through her. Mumbled apologies were the only thing the pair said as they rocked each other, leaving the Tardis to take them into the vortex. Jack had left and made them all a cup of English tea, only breaking them apart to give it to them and direct them to somewhere more comfortable than the grating floor of the console room. He had led them to the library and felt touched when Rose reached out and held his hand and pulled both him and the Doctor down to the sofa each side of her. The trio clung to each other as the images of what was to come sooner or later left them with nothing but fear. The only movement was from Rose when the occasional need to throw up overcame her already shaken body, and mind. Curling back in the middle of her best friends, she had mumbled something about stupid alien bugs, when the two humans fell asleep wrapped in each other's warmth. Neither felt the pain from the Time Lord as he gently touched their temples with his fingers, barricading any nightmares that could plague them, only allowing the memories that made them smile and laugh.
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Letting himself look at Rose, he attempted a weak smile as her soft face, now void of the anger and pain that he could still see clouded behind her eyes, smiled at him letting him know everything that didn't - couldn't be said. He bowed his head and frowned as he looked at her still holding her stomach and made a deal with himself to get her checked out back at the Tardis, the bug had been affecting her for far too long now, a few weeks at least! At least it was nothing worse than mood swings and sickness. Could have been fatal...What if it
was and he was doing nothing?! What if Rose was slowly dying and he was out drinking and going up to sing and spill secrets when his first priority was always to keep Rose safe?
'John Smith. John Smith to the stage please!'
The Doctor jumped as he heard his alias name called out from the weedy man at the bar. Holding Rose's gaze, his face paled completely before a strange feeling of courage filled him, heading from his feet rising upwards as he did so and by the time he had let go of Rose and walked to the edge of the stage, his long coat forgotten on his seat, the feeling had reached his mind and overcame any reason of why this was utterly the worst thing that he could or should be doing at this precise moment. Instead, he smiling and walked onto the stage and stood in front of the microphone. Through the haze he could feel more than see Rose and Jack at the back, only Jack thoroughly enjoying what was happening. A hum filled the room as the excitement radiated from each person as their own reasons and words filled their minds. Locking eyes with Rose, he opened his mouth and a soft melody sprang from his lips before he realised what was happening.
'I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie is made up on your side.
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?'
The words made no sense as his mouth worked around the sounds; no memories that could link to what he was singing gave him a dread of fear of what was to come.
'When you're gone,
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it ok.
I miss you.'
Tears began to well in his eyes as the full force of what the words were beginning to mean made sense. All he could see was the same realisation in the same brown eyes, tears falling down her face.
'I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the cloths you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you, I love the things that you do.
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?'
We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I'd do, I'd give my heart and soul
I can hardly breath I need to feel you here we me.'
An invisible breeze swelled round him as cries of pain and soft words filled the air. The forgotten humming in the back of his mind spoke for the briefest of moments before it was snatched cruelly from him as vicious words reached his ears. French syllables wound through the air as sheets and love mixed in his hearts, screams, tears, love, fear, separation.
Realising he had finished, he stepped off the stage and walked numbly back to his seat. Soft arms wrapped themselves around him, and he clinged to the small form in his arms, breathing in her scent of strawberry's and time. The small humming in his mind nudged his consciousness before it fell away as he moved away from her and sat back down as 'Rose Tyler' was called. As he took his seat, watching the dress fall about her feet as she walked, he looked around confused, wondering when it was he had stood up.
AN: the song is 'When You're Gone' Avril Lavigne.
